New Delhi Refutes Trump’s ‘Unfounded’ Statement On Tariff Reductions

India-West News Desk

NEW DELHI – India has pushed back against President Donald Trump’s claim that it has agreed to drastically cut import tariffs on U.S. products, stating that no such commitment has been made. The rebuttal comes after Trump, just weeks into his second term, alleged that New Delhi had agreed to “cut their tariffs way down” after facing pressure from his administration.

“You can’t sell anything into India, it is almost restrictive,” Trump had railed last week while criticizing what he called India’s “massive tariffs.” He further asserted, “They have agreed, by the way, they want to cut their tariffs way down now because somebody is finally exposing them for what they have done.”

However, an Indian government official clarified before a parliamentary panel that “no commitments had been made to the U.S. on the issue,” AFP reported. The official further stated that India has sought time until September to address the concerns repeatedly raised by Washington.

According to AFP, India’s Commerce Secretary Sunil Barthwal emphasized that New Delhi and Washington were focused on forging a long-term bilateral trade agreement rather than making immediate adjustments to tariff structures. “India and the U.S. are working towards a mutually beneficial trade partnership, prioritizing sustainable cooperation over short-term tariff reductions,” Barthwal reportedly told the panel.

While the United States remains a key market for India’s IT and services sector, trade tensions have periodically flared under Trump. Despite Washington’s concerns over tariffs, the U.S. has secured multi-billion-dollar defense deals with India, deepening military cooperation between the two nations, AFP noted.

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